The general trend of decreasing vanilla production in East Africa was re-enforced by a very poor flowering earlier this year in Western Uganda and Eastern Congo. 

The reason for the lack of flowers in March-April remains unclear.  It might be related to the near-constant rains and the lack of a distinct dry season at the beginning of the year.  What is sure is that the now coming crop is very small and the trend of falling production already observed in previous years is confirmed.  At the current pace, in 2-3 years time there will be very little vanilla production remaining in the region. The relatively good flowering that occurred in September to November will not significantly change this pattern.

No Comments | posted December 10, 2010 under Harvest outlook · Markets · Vanilla